Great images as always!"Contragulations", Jen on making today's (10/13/09) online issue of the Daily Mail UK. Here's the link for you - just in case you haven't seen it:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1220009/Half-baked-Catastrophic-cake-decorating-disasters-revealed.html

Hmm. I used to wonder how they got cakes into the computer printer for those photo-cakes.Now I see you don't need to-- just print something out on regular paper (proofreading is for wussies, by the way), and slap the page on top of a cake. Saves you lots of time.

@Amanda, you are right! Why should I pay for them to print a computer-generated decoration?! I can do that much! I also hate when they stick little plastic whatevers all over it and call it decorated. If I am paying for it I expect something I can't do.

The intern cake is the best. Nothing says "You're not real employees" or "We don't pay you" like a paper printout on top of a cake. Note the crease from the person assigned to print it folding it and stuffing it in folder.

Aside from the slacker effort put forth into these, just the idea of a cake like these is BORING! If I'm ordering a cake, I want some serious frosting, nice decor, and SPRINKLES. There are no sprinkles to be found. How sad.

I was looking at the second picture trying to determine what was wrong with it, all I saw were pretty cakes.Until.....I saw the rainbow one on the left WITH THE CURLING PAPER!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just move that scroll over a bit, it seems to have moved while we drove the cake home! Yeh, just like that. Bad idea? Just leave it there then, don't make a mess. Damnit, the word "on" must have fallen off too. Just set the cake down and let's go!

Nothing says "we care about you guys enough to get you a cake" like a big giant white cake with nothing on it but a piece of paper! bet they just couldn't even grasp all of the appreciation being show.... (facepalm!)

Is that a crease down the center of the "interns" paper? Did someone pull this out of their pocket, unfold it, and slap it on the cake? Could they be reusing the same piece of paper for interns all year? What happens next year? IS THIS GOOD FOR THE COMPANY?

Mmmm papery is right!Who doesn't want EXTRA fibre in their diet?I'm sure with all that sugar that's on the cake they'll need to get it somewhere.It kinda makes the cake a balanced diet. Like sticking fruit on. But instead of fruit... It's paper...Okay, okay. I have NO idea why they would stick paper on it then send it out. And congrats on a page 3 spread in the Metro paper in the UK. You're now an official page 3 girl here :P

The only problem I had with my cake decorator for my wedding is that she wouldn't even just outline-and-fill on the coat-of-arms sugar-paper print we had. I mean, how hard is that? Seriously. Tracing and filling so it doesn't look like a sugar-paper print can't possibly be that out-there, can it? 'Cuz she was adamant about not doing so.

(Otherwise, everything tasted and looked fantastic. It was just that one tiny thing that really bothered.)

Re: NYT--I cracked up when I read that Mary Alice from Ace of Cakes reads CW to make sure their cakes don't end up here...That's so cool. (well, a few have, but in a good way...although there was the Star Trek flap but that was still a Sunday Sweet!)

Well, I am a professional decorator, at least I get paid for doing it. Although I have made many thousands of cakes over the years, lots of flowers, lots of figure piping, transferring pictures to cakes has always been something people want. While I have never understood the appeal of putting someone's face on a cake and then eating it, people are willing to pay for it, and it pays our wages. Some days 50% of our orders are photo cakes. In the olden days we had a "KopyKake" projector that would project pictures down onto the cake and we had to outline around the picture with black piping gel, then fill it in with colored gel or airbrush the colors in. It seldom looks very good...faces were difficult. The cakes we make with the Photoocake process is much more rewarding, and turns out much better. Pictures on cakes are a product people want, and are willing to pay for. The "paper" we use to print on is edible, some of it is even fondant sheets. The only cake I have a problem with in today's post is the scroll one; poorly done. A border around the pictures on the other two cakes would have taken away the "piece of paper on a cake" look. A customer obviously brought in the pictures and asked the bakery to put it on a cake for them. The bakery got paid to do it, and Jen is getting paid for making fun of them I guess.

The Photocake computer, scanner and printer is expensive, the edible ink and edible sheets are expensive, and replacing the print heads every few months is expensive, and that is why those cakes cost more.

Also, I am almost certain that the cakes in the "bakery covering all the bases" are dummy cakes. Probably have too much display space available for the amount of business they do.

Come on! The cake was ugly whether or not those ninja stars were swastikas. And the ninja stars weren't even remotely subtle. It was still a wreck. Nothing like the gorgeous cakes on their website, and I doubt the experienced baker did the piping.

And obviously the baker is using heavy-handed tactics if she shut down both you and Yelp. Come on! If she'd apologize, explain why the less skilled decorator did the cake, and refund the woman's money, this would just be a story to laugh at instead of a kerfluffle.

So, so sad you've set a precedent of removing entries when the baker complains. That's a very slippery slope to start down with a blog like this.

Late to the party today, but super huge congrats on your appearance in the NY Times! Glad you and John are back up to speed after the tour mishap/illnesses over the past couple weeks. Ummm, that's all I had to say really - great blog, love ya, keep up the awesome wreckiness! :)

Well, I certainly don't support racist hate mail especially since it was obvious that the baker didn't intend offense.

However I'm disappointed to hear that you'll take down photos if the bakers ask. You lose credibility, IMO, by that tactic. I start to wonder how many of those beautifully executed wrecks were specifically created in the hopes of getting a little free Cakewreck publicity.

I also think the baker deserves the bad publicity. Regardless of racist undertones, which I absolutely understand was not intended, the cake didn't come close to the quality of the ones on her site. It was not professional at all, and from many of the comments on Yelp, this isn't the first time it's happened.

Still, I'm sorry about your very rough day, especially since you are supposed to be recuperating, and Jen should be flying high on the success of her book and tour.

I think you folks did the right thing in removing today's post at the baker's request.

Wreck-y cake or not, she's still a human being who shouldn't have to deal with hate messages. I'd be very sad if any of those came from regular, everyday Wrecktators.

I turned my husband on to this site and when we got our copy of the book, we spent an evening reading it out loud together and laughing 'til our sides ached. (Our personal, wetting-our-pants-laughing favorite is still the fireman...you know which one I'm talking about...) I visit the site everyday for the laughs.

It's really disappointing - though sadly not as surprising as it should be, even the internets - that the baker received racist hate mail. I think you guys made the right call pulling the last post based on that.

The link above is to the New York Times' website and. more specifacally, the artiicle they did on- you guesed it- CakWrecks! Yes, you probably saw this already, maybe even talked with the writer, but just in case- there it is! CONGRATULASHUNS; JEN 4 BEING RECOGNIZED BY THE NY TIMES IN BIG LETTERS

And I agree with Just a Girl: I'd like to think none of the hate mail came from regular readers. We all understand this is just for fun (I say this as someone who learned long ago to laugh at her own mistakes).

Thanks for posting my comment. I didn't think you would (though I knew you'd read it, and I was writing more for you than the public anyway).

Hey, quick question (or 2 or 3 or 5) for ya:That "covering all the bases" cake...Why is it so dark in that store? Do they dim the lights so that people (as in, "potential customers") can't see the cakes well enough to really appreciate the (clears throat) artwork?OR, if the store is actually closed, why do they need light at all? Will the cakes get nightmares about themselves without a nightlight? OR, maybe the light is to attract thieves who are looking for a late-night snack, and the cakes are sitting on an alarm wired to the P.D.?So many questions....so little interest in the answers.>^~-^<

The "swastika/shuriken" cake lady has posted her side of the story on Yelp.com, and according to her, she was given, by the family, a page of throwing star designs that included every one of the designs she put on there. No, she didn't put them in the lace pattern as requested, but the particular design in question was included in the examples so it wasn't entirely her fault. Just look for Yelp.com and the name of the business and you'll find it easily enough.

I must admit that I was saddened to return home from my super busy day and find no cake wreck at which to laugh. Alas. So, I comes to the comments to see what's amiss. I am sorry to hear that the baker was getting racist hate mail. Lame.

SOOO excited to see that others have found out what we already know - how fabulous this site is! "CONGRALULASHUNS" four you're articl in the new Yorke times,

And I, too support the removal of the "Nazi cake" because as you've said before, this site is for fun, and when a particular article stops being fun, and starts being harmful to someone, it's time to take that article down. Very wise. Now, on to the Austin pics! Hee hee!

Sorry to rain on people's wreck parade, but aren't the first three pics made of those printout icing pics that are made with edible sugar paper? (the last one is definitely paper) Like this: http://www.birthday-cake-central.com/birthday-cake-printout.html

I'm sorry to admit that I buy these for my daughters in the Barbie Fairy flavor. They really love them.

Hi Jen I live in Perth Western Australia & heard you talking LIVE! on 720 ABC with Bernadette (who I can't stand BTW). How excited was I - I nearly ran off the road! Unfortunately I had to get out of my car so I missed the end of the interview. But congrats! I've nearly fallen off my seat laughing at some of the stupidity you've posted. Thank goodness there's so many dumb ppl out there or, as you put it so nicely, "people who have brain snaps" (or something like that). Congrats on the success of the book. I hope John is on the mend, too. Cheers Jane

Interestingly, here in New Zealand, I never got to see the controversial post - all I knew was that all day Thursday (we're 22 hours ahead of LA!) there didn't seem to be any post at all for Wednesday 15th Oct, and I was getting a bit worried about John and Jen's ongoing health...

Is it possible to post a placeholder comment, on the rare occasions that such a thing might happen? Just so we know that all is well in Wrecky world?

I recall previous 'removals', which also generated some heat. I support your attitude and gumption, Jen and John - Hippocrates said it as "First, do no harm".

The ninja cake lady posted a picture of the ninja stars that were provided to her on yelp, and all were included on the cake. However, the cake is still nowhere near the quality of the ones shown on their website, and there's no lace to be seen.

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